Guy Forshey of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, USA, a long-time builder of model airplanes and also a pilot and owner of a full size Cessna 177 Cardinal, used his skill and expertise to create one fantastic looking scale Aeronca Sedan. In June 2014, he allowed us to peek inside his "construction facility", where the completed model was on display. Congratulations, Guy, it is one jewel of a model! We hope, you will be able to fly and enjoy your masterpiece for many years to come!
Guy Forshey kindly sent us the following report:
"As a young boy, I always had a balsa stick and tissue model on the building board. One of my favourites was a rubber powered Aeronca Sedan. It flew as good as it looked and I hoped that some day I would build an R/C model with those same graceful lines.
Many decades later, my vision was realized, when a sixteen month project concluded with a successful test flight in July 2014. The project was a labor of love and was made possible with the highly detailed photos of the Sedan restoration project of Matthias and Monika Sieber. As a scale modeler, I have come to appreciate the value of available documentation and the role it can serve in producing a realistic looking subject. Every detail was at hand.
One of my favorite challenges is to replicate the cabin area as close as possible to the original. The website images were so complete that my biggest problem was locating matching fabric for the seat and door panels. The exterior of the model features aluminum panel overlap lines, rivets, scale pinked tapes, screws, ect. Power is provided by a 1.60 cubic inch, 2-cycle glow engine and the entire model is finished with epoxy paints.
On the evening of the first test flight, winds persisted for over two hours. When the winds calmed, the sky darkened and light rain followed. I had waited long enough. The engine started on the first flip and we were set to go. Much to my amazement, the model tracked straight down the runway and effortlessly rose into the air. I knew at that moment, I had a winner. The first landing ended without incident and the crowd was thrilled. Quite honestly, so was I. Since then, I have flown the Sedan again and have concluded that this model is the finest flying scratch built project I have built in many years. The Sedan is a delight to fly and has no undesirable traits.
I thank you, Matt and Monika, for sharing your beautiful aircraft with me and allowing my vision of building a scale Aeronca Sedan to become a reality."
Click on the thumbnails to view the pictures in full size.
Photos © Guy & Nancy Forshey
